Heroes and Thieves
by WillowEchoRiver
Summary: This is just a little OneShot I made, my first Stargate Fanfic, Daniel/Vala. The team goes to Washington D.C. to have dinner with the president....


**Disclaimer: No, I do not own Stargate, or any of it's characters, but I wish I did because I have a lot of things that I would like to happen....Hehe. Also, I don't own the song. For those of you who don't know it, it's "Heroes and Thieves." By Vanessa Carlton**

"And she can't ride with you...._Why exactly?"_ Daniel muttered to Mitchell as they walked down the hallways of the SGC. He wasn't blind to the amusement written all over Cameron's face as he refused to look at Daniel when he gave his answer. "Because, she specifically asked to ride with you, my car is full, and I find it amusing that you think you can avoid her eventually getting her way."

"Your car is _not _full Mitchell, you've got Teal'c, Sam, and you. There has to be at least one open seat, it's not like you have only three seats in your car." Daniel complained, when Cameron gave no answer, he added. "Besides, why did she ask to ride with me in the first place?!" Daniel didn't really need an answer to that question, since Vala was constantly finding any way she could to bother him. And hours in the car was probably just the chance she was looking for to drive him completely insane.

Cameron seemed to think the only necessary answer to that question was an amused laugh, before he walked off to go get ready for the trip.

With impeccable timing, Vala skipped up behind Daniel and linked her arm through his. "Hello Daniel! I hear we're taking a road trip! This should be fun!"

"Yeah. Listen Vala, meeting the president is a _big_ thing. So I want to give you a piece of advice for when we do okay?" Daniel said, ignoring her comment about the road trip. It was not going to be fun.

"I'm all for advice!" She exclaimed.

She was in an excellent mood. And he knew his words weren't going to ruin that, otherwise he would have kept it to himself, but he said, with an exasperated voice. "Don't talk."

Vala's grin didn't falter as she said, in a mock pout. "Well _someones_ a little grumpy!"

He let out an exasperated sigh, and said, shaking his head. "Are you packed?"

"Packed and Ready!" She answered immediately.

"Good. Go get your stuff, we need to be on our way."

"I need your help." She said, as she pulled him along to her room.

"Vala.....How much stuff did you _bring_?" Daniel asked her, dreading her response.

"Well, I have a lot of stuff!" She replied as she opened the door to her room and Daniel stared at the five suitcases stacked on top of her bed.

He let out an audible groan, and turned to face her. "We're going to be gone for _four days _Vala! _four days!"_

"I need all this stuff." She said simply, making her way toward her suitcases. But he caught hold of her arm.

"Daniel, we really are in a hurry." She said, as she turned to face him. Her face seemed like she was attempting to look serious, but he could see the playfulness in her eye, he would never admit that he loved seeing that look on her face.

"Which bag has your clothes in it?" He asked her,

She seemed to know she was not about to win this, and pointed to a bag, but that didn't stop her from whining. "Daniel! I need this stuff! I wont survive without it!"

"I don't even want to know what could possibly be that important." Daniel grunted as he tried to lift the biggest of the bags off the bed. "Are you sure this isn't the bag with the bricks in it?" He asked her as he managed to lift it up.

"No, no, that's that bag. " She joked, motioning to one of the smaller bags.

Daniel was thankful that this was a bag that had wheels so you could pull it along. And soon enough he had it in the trunk of his car, and was sitting behind the wheel while Vala got into the passengers seat.

Daniel could tell he was being a bit of a grouch, and though he was still slightly annoyed he decided he wasn't going to put a damper on Vala's cheerfulness. So instead of making smart remarks, he contented himself with just listening to her chatter as the drove for a little while, and was surprised to find himself actually enjoying her company.

After a while of listening to her talking, he interrupted her story about an amazing con she had pulled on one unfortunate individual.

"Vala--." He interrupted and she looked at him, obviously surprised he had interrupted her 'facinating' story.

"What Daniel? Of course I'm all good and sorry for that now, but it's still a good story!" She exclaimed as if his interruption had been because of disapproval.

"No. I just thought we'd set up a couple rules before you're introduced to the president." He said slowly, he didn't mean offence with his words this time, so he was trying to be careful not to cause it.

"Yes, yes, 'Don't Talk' blah blah blah. I got it. Story now?" She said impatiently, and he wondered with a guilty feeling if his words earlier had actually hurt her feelings. He got over it quickly however, and shook his head.

"No, that's not it. " He said, sighing. "Listen Vala, I just want you to know this dinner with the President is _very_ important. If it doesn't go well it will look bad for Stargate Command. You've got that right?" He said, glancing at her before looking back at the road.

"Yes Daniel, I got that." She replied impatiently, before launching immediately back into her story. "So then I was trying to convince him that I wouldn't steal the---What now?" She grumbled as he interrupted again by clearing his throat.

"_And."_ He went on as if she had not interrupted. "That means these things, 1. If the president is trying to hold a serious conversation, don't interrupt it with silly comments. 2. Try to be polite, just talk when he talks to us, 3. Don't tell stories of past thievery you may, or may not have committed as far as he knows. 4. You absolutely can _not _flirt with the president. Understand?"

The grin Vala gave him made him wish he hadn't said anything at all, because it was likely she would do these things simply to embarrass him. But then she was unusually silent as she looked out the window. After a little while of silence, he opened his mouth to say something to her, wondering if he'd offended her, when she turned the radio on.

He immediately reached out to turn it off again, but she turned it right back on. And he could see she would do this all day if she had to.

The song that began to play had apparently just started, and the words rung out in the silent car.

'_Disaster it strikes on a daily basis,_

_I'm looking for wisdom in all the wrong places,_

_But still want to laugh in disappointed faces, _

_but you can't help me, I'm blinded by these.....' _The woman's voice sang from the radio.

Daniel glanced over at Vala to find she was staring intently out the window, it was hard to tell if she was listening anymore, and was tempted to turn off the music, but decided she wouldn't like that. So thought better of it.

_'Heroes and Thieves at my door, _

_I can't seem to tell them apart anymore,_

_And just when I've figured it out,_

_Darling it's you I'm without....'_

Daniel continued to watch the road, ignoring Vala's gaze turn upon him, he couldn't help but notice she was watching him intently now, instead of the window, and it made him uncomfortable. He could feel warmth building up in his cheeks, and he wasn't sure why, something about the way she was watching him, so he concentrated on the music.

_'well I'm stubborn and wrong but at least I know it,_

_Keep moving along and hope I can get through this,_

_but maybe this song is the best I can do it, _

_So I'm patiently, waiting on these...._

The song reminded him of something, someone, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He never thought much about whatever teenage music was playing on the radio, but now he was listening to every word, as if trying to solve a puzzle.

_'Heroes and thieves at my door,_

_I can't seem to tell them apart anymore,_

_and just when I've figured it out,_

_Darling its you, oh darling it's you, darling its you_

_I'm without your comforting logic,_

_like these days are the ones I'll miss,_

_and I seek a solitude, that I can't find without you_

And suddenly the mystery was solved, or at least half of it was. And he knew who this song reminded him of, but it seemed like there was something wrong with this, and he felt almost guilty for relating this song to the girl sitting next to him in the car. He didn't want to think about what that would be saying, because if that girl was Vala, then who was.....

_'it seems like I'm getting closer somehow..._

_A flicker of peace that I"ve finally found,_

_Thank you for believing in me now,_

_Cause I do need it...._

_So give me a year or two, and I"ll mend my ways_

_And see these mistakes and when I see the truth,_

_darling, trust me, when I can see,_

_I'll be coming back, coming back, _

_Cause there are heroes and thieves at my door, _

_I can't seem to tell them apart anymore, _

_just when I've figured it out,_

_well darling its you, darling it's you, oh darling _

_It's you I"m without.' _

Daniel shivered slightly at the last words of the song, and immediately stretched out his hand to shut off the radio, Vala didn't stop him this time, and was still watching him intently.

"What?" He asked, his question toneless. It didn't give a hint of all of the feelings in him, it was like the silly song had made him wonder if he could ever mean so much to Vala, it made his heart ache in longing, like he wanted to mean that to her, but knew he didn't, and then he wanted to yell at himself for thinking that way. _You do NOT have feelings for Vala. _He told himself, the very thought made him let out a short chuckle. _Of course not, that would be ridiculous._

"What are you laughing at?" Vala asked, confused as if she wanted to know what joke she had missed.

"Oh it's nothing." Daniel said as he gazed out the windshield at the road.

"No Daniel. Tell me." Vala insisted, folding her arms and watching him.

By this time they had been driving for quite a long time, and it was starting to get dark. "I'll tell you in a minute, do me a favor." He said, pulling his phone out of his pocket. "Call Mitchell and ask him when were going to stop at a hotel."

Vala took his phone a little too eagerly, and started dialing the number.

"Careful with that, it was expensive." He warned her, flinching at how careless she was being with it.

"Yes, I know!" She said, holding the phone to her ear, and then said. "Hi Sam! Will you ask Mitchell when we're stopping? Daniel wanted to know."

He could hear voices on the other side of the phone and then hear Sam reply, but he didn't know what she said.

"Okay! Thanks Sam!" Vala said, hanging up. "She says half an hour or so. Now tell me whats so funny in that little head of yours." She still hadn't given him back his phone, and he held his hand out expectantly.

"I think you should keep both hands on the wheel." She teased. "I'll give you the phone when I hear the joke."

He hesitated then answered. "Well that song just reminded me of----"

"Of me, yes. I got it. Anything with the word 'Thieves' in it would remind you of me." She said, looking amused. "But that doesn't explain what was so funny."

"Well I was thinking about, you know, the song.....And starting to wonder about some things, and then after I wondered about it for a little bit, I realized how utterly and truly ridiculous it was, and it made me laugh."

"And what was it that you were thinking?" She asked, starting to look a little suspicious.

"Well, wondering if I could possibly have feelings for you." He said, he wasn't trying to be a jerk or anything, he honestly didn't think she would be offended if he wasn't interested in her. So he looked rather amused, while she was silent in the seat next to him.

After a short, silent moment, Vala spoke up. "I don't see why you find that thought so funny." She said defiantly. "As if it's ridiculous that you could have feelings for me? I mean, it's not as if I'm ugly. You would be lucky to have attention from someone as gorgeous as me."

"It has nothing to do with your looks Vala." He said, rolling his eyes.

"Then what is it? I'm not smart enough for you?"

"Vala. Let it go." He said, wishing he'd never said anything.

"No Daniel, I'm not letting it go."

"Look." He said, turning to look at her. "It is absolutely, nothing, other then the fact that we're two completely different people, I mean, we can't even get along when we're friends. We'd make an awful couple." He said, he was growing less amused by the minutes and he was being serious now that he saw the offended look on Vala's face. He hadn't meant to be mean. He felt rather guilty for hurting her feelings.

"Uh huh." Was her only reply, as she folded her arms and stared out the window.

"It's not as if you like me or anything anyway, you're just disappointed that you can't have every man wrapped around your finger."

"And what is that supposed to mean exactly? You think that I'm just out to get as many people to like me as I can?" Vala asked him incredulously.

"That's exactly what I think." He replied rather unkindly, he didn't mean it, but he was frustrated with her as it was, and this didn't help. Just then they pulled into the hotel parking lot, where Mitchell, Sam, and Teal'c were all waiting outside Cameron's car.

Vala didn't say anything else to him, just unbuckled quickly, and got out of the car, slamming the door behind her. He flinched slightly as the car shook from the slamming of the door. He rubbed his forehead with his hand. He hadn't meant to seriously offend her, he'd just been saying what he thought, and apparently that had gone a little too far.

A second later Mitchell was tapping on the window of his car and he got out.

"What did you do this time Jackson?" Mitchell asked him, having seen Vala's anger.

"You don't want to know." Daniel replied, walking past him to the others.

Vala was already chatting with Sam, and ignoring him. And Sam and Vala went off to the room they were sharing, while Teal'c, Cameron, and Daniel all went to their room.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The next day, they were all up bright and early and getting ready to get back into the car and head the rest of the way to D.C. They had driven all day the day before, and only had a few hours of a drive left. Which they were all relieved about, even though apparently Teal'c, Sam, and Cameron had had a good time, while Daniel had been stuck with Vala, who was apparently still mad at him because she made Cameron take her in his car the next day.

It wasn't as if Daniel didn't feel bad for hurting Vala's feelings, he did. But he also felt like she was just making a big deal out of nothing, as usual.

Instead, Sam decided to ride with Daniel, and he thought maybe now he'd actually be able to have a normal conversation with someone for the car ride. Instead of how it had been with Vala.

But he also had a weird feeling about it. It was like he was glad to be rid of her, but deep down he got this feeling in his stomach, that he didn't quite understand, it was like a mixture of disappointment and guilt, he thought, but he wasn't sure why he'd be feeling that way.

For the first half an hour, him and Sam had normal conversations about this and that, but then the small talk ended, and Sam got to the point... "Vala wanted me to trade cars with her." She said, which Daniel knew was true, so he didn't know why she'd brought it up. But he didn't like where he thought this was going. That was for sure.

"Yeah. I know. I made her mad apparently." He said, shaking his head

"Oh yeah, I know that too." She said, she looked like she was trying to suppress a grin. And Daniel let out a groan. "Noooo, she told you everything didn't she?"

Sam just nodding, grinning.

"And she's probably telling Teal'c and Mitchell right now."

"Yeah, probably."

"And no doubt she has some things she wants you to say to me?" Daniel let out an exasperated sigh. Vala was sometimes so difficult....

"You know her well." Sam commented.

"Yeah well, she invests most of her time in driving me nuts so, yeah. I guess I do know her pretty well." He said, shaking his head.

"Are you sure?"

"Am I sure what?"

"Are you sure she's driving you nuts?" Sam asked.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, I mean of course sometimes she just wants to bother you, and I'm sure she succeeds, but I always got the impression that you two enjoyed each others company." She said, shrugging.

"We get along for the most part." Was his only reply. He knew Sam was right, yesterday had just been a bad day and he had probably been ruder and more touchy then he should have. But for the most part, he really did like being around Vala, she spent so much time in his office trying to bother him that his office really didn't feel complete without her in it. Not that he ever would have admitted it. "But it seems like she's constantly trying to drive me up the wall."

"That's not what she's doing." Sam said casually. "She's trying to get your attention, and when you don't give her your attention, she tends to go into more extreme measures."

Daniel snorted. "Don't I know it."

Sam still looked a bit amused. "I think she likes you."

Daniel was silent for a moment, and then said, trying to sound casual. "And what would possess you to think something like that?" He said, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye.

"Because she told me she likes you." Sam said, and Daniel couldn't help but glance at her to see the look on her face, which was one of pure amusement.

But Daniel's head was suddenly spinning with all sorts of thoughts, he could feel that emotion coming back from when he had heard that song, that longing he had had to mean something to Vala more then just someone to bug in her free time. Parts of him were longing for her to care for him, while other parts of him screamed at him that he wanted to steer clear of Vala. That he didn't want to become closer to her then he already was. He would only get hurt again. And thats what he told himself to stay away from those thoughts. Besides, how could he possibly have feelings more then friendship for Vala? It was ridiculous!

His thoughts were interrupted by the next comment Sam made, "And I think you like her too." When Daniel didn't say anything, it was like Sam had read his mind. "Daniel she really does care about you, you've seen her change yourself. So why is it so hard for you to believe that she really could care for you?"

Daniel didn't answer, because he honestly didn't know. He had seen Vala change her life completely, and he felt he could trust her with his life --though he'd never say that out loud-- so why couldn't he trust her with his heart?

"Daniel, you don't see the times when you're in trouble and how concerned she is for you, and you don't see the way you two light up just being around each other. Even when your bickering."

"Sam, please. " Daniel said, shaking his head back and forth quickly, trying to clear his thoughts. "Can we talk about something else?"

"I'm just going to say, you know that if something happened to her today, and you never got a chance to make up with her---"

"Stop." He interrupted. He didn't want to talk about this.

Sam graciously agreed to change the subject, and they talked about some other things for a while, but Daniels mind was always on that conversation about Vala. He knew she was right. If he didn't make up with Vala, and something happened to her, he'd be crushed. He knew despite all the things he told himself he really did care about her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The second days drive was a great deal shorter then the first days, when they got to the hotel they would be staying at in D.C. they all went and changed into more formal clothing, and then went to go have dinner with the president.

Daniel was still thinking about his conversation with Sam as he tied his tie carefully looking into the hotel mirror. He wondered if she was right, did Vala really care about him as much as Sam said she did? On the other hand, Vala herself had told Sam she had feelings for him. But why was that so hard for Daniel to believe?

They all met in the hotel lobby, and Vala seemed to have forgotten she was angry at him, because she came over to him and linked arms with him with a bright smile on her face. "How do I look?" She questioned, and he thought he could almost see insecurity in her eyes...Insecurity, that seemed odd, considering that Vala always seemed so confident with herself. Then he realized, that maybe, just maybe, she was searching for _his_ approval. In that case, he knew he had to give a good answer, and he knew 'You look nice' wouldn't be good enough. "You look lovely Vala." He settled on saying, she seemed pleased with his answer and left to go chat with Sam. He hadn't been completely honest either, he thought she looked absolutely beautiful, like she lit up the entire hotel. But he couldn't tell _her_ that.

Daniel was also surprised at how well she behaved with the President. She didn't follow his advice about not talking, but everything she said was polite, and clever. Daniel couldn't help but admire her.

After the dinner, they all headed back to the hotel, it was early evening and they were leaving the next day, so it seemed a shame not to spend the evening touring D.C.

Daniel wanted to talk to Vala, to apologize, even though she had apparently forgiven him. And he was trying to figure out how to get to spend time alone with her when Mitchell said, "Teal'c buddy, we wanted to go see those certain monuments right?"

"Indeed Cameron Mitchell." Teal'c replied with that slight nod of his.

"Who wants to come along?" Mitchell asked, he nodded at Sam, and she took the hint. "I will." She volunteered, they all seemed to be looking at Daniel. Except Vala, who remained clueless.

"Hey I'll---" She started, beginning to agree to come along until Daniel gently put a hand on her arm, she looked at him and he gave a slight shake of his head.

She looked confused, but said. "I think I'll just do whatever Daniel's doing."

"Great. We'll meet you all back here in a few hours." Mitchell nodded, and the three of them left.

Then Daniel turned to Vala, "Should we go look around? The Monuments are supposed to be especially pretty at night." He offered.

"Sure. But if we're going to the monuments, why didn't we just go with them?" She asked, confused.

"I wanted to talk." He said simply as they walked out the hotel door.

Sine she was holding onto his arm, he felt her stiffen up when he said this and she said, trying to sound casual, and failing. "Is this so you can tell me how I'd never be good enough for you some more?"

Daniel sighed, "No."

Vala didn't answer. They walked for a while, looking at the monuments. But it wasn't until they were sitting on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial that he brought the subject up again. "Vala...." He said slowly.

"Yes Daniel?" She asked, looking at him.

He looked at her, and couldn't help but notice how beautiful she looked. He had always thought so, but he'd never wanted to admit that to himself, because he didn't want to be hurt by her.

A strand of hair had fallen in front of her eyes, and he reached out to brush it away for her. She seemed to freeze when he did so, she looked surprised. Maybe she wasn't used to such tender gestures from him. His hand lingered on her cheek, and everything he had planned to say to her faded out of his mind, and he was at a loss for words. For a moment he wondered if this was a bad idea, but that thought was wiped from his mind when he saw the soft smile on her face, it wasn't that teasing, flirty, smile she usually had on. No, this was different. He smiled gently at her. "I'm sorry for what I said yesterday, " He said after a long silence. "I was just in a bad mood, and I took it out on you. I"m sorry. And maybe it's not impossible." He said, and that was enough. There was no kiss. No deep dark confessions. Just those words, that maybe it wasn't impossible for them to be together. Their time would come. It just wasn't there, at the Lincoln Memorial, in Washington D.C.

**Authors Note: Please review, to be honest, I'm still not sure I like this, and had my doubts about posting it, this is just sort of a mixture of a whole bunch of ideas I had lately, but I sort of just threw all the ideas together because by themselves they were too short, so yeah....So yeah, I'm just gonna give a little explanation, so please take just a tiny bit of time to read this :) **

**Yeah okay so the song, every time I hear it I think of Daniel and Vala, and I wasn't sure how to make an entire songfic out of it so I just sort of threw it in this one that I was going to do.....I haven't ever considered doing a one shot and this was going to be more then one chapter untill I decided I liked it better short.....**

**Yes. I do know that it got a little out of character at some parts, and I realized that as I was rereading it, so that's why I ended it the way I did, somehow I didn't think that Daniel and Vala would suddenly, out of nowhere confess their feelings for each other right there, so that's why they didn't....Even though the show would be much better off if they did! :)**

**Anyway! Hope you enjoyed it!**


End file.
